The shattering or freeing of the clocks can be interpreted in two distinct ways:

Elena’s own wrist began to itch. She pulled back her sleeve. Beneath the skin, a faint, digital readout was embedded in her forearm. 00:72:14:59 Seventy-two hours.

Chua taps into the modern dread of industrialized time. In contemporary society, humans do not live by natural rhythms; we live by the rigid ticking of gears. The protagonist's desperate vigil highlights how time transforms from a helpful metric into an oppressive warden. 2. Urban Alienation and the Window Motif